New Canaan defeats Fairfield Prep in CIAC Division I final, captures first state championship since 1972
· Yahoo Sports
HAMDEN - Goodbye 1972, hello 2026.
For the second time in its history and the first time in 54 years, the New Canaan boys ice hockey team is a state champion after defeating Fairfield Prep 3-1 in the CIAC Division I final Monday night at Quinnipiac's M&T Bank Arena.
Visit saltysenoritaaz.com for more information.
Junior Drew Harmon netted the winning goal off assists from seniors Rogan Lowe and Anthony Delcarmine with 2:02 to play, then a few minutes later, New Canaan skated into the history books with the title.
"This has been our goal ever since I've been here and probably years before that," Lowe said. "This has been the goal for (New Canaan) since 1972, so to do it means so much. All the hard work we've been putting in year-round and all the setbacks we've had, it's for this moment."
New Canaan's five-decade drought of championships was a mind-boggling anomaly given the Rams' history of success.
They've won 23 FCIAC championships, more than double that of any other team, and finished runner-up in the CIAC finals 10 straight times, including in each of the past two seasons when they lost first to Notre Dame-West Haven and then to Darien.
Lowe, Delcarmine and defensemen Cam Lyden and Jackson Crowell have been to the last three finals with the Rams.
"I'm just so happy for them," New Canaan coach Clark Jones said. "They work so hard and when something like this happens, you just think about the work they did and you think about the alumni that have helped build this. They've tried to win it for years and years and their support is so big. The New Canaan hockey family is tight."
The winning series was started by Lowe, who maintained control of the puck, kept it in the zone, skated around a pair of defenseman into the open and sent a shot towards the net.
The puck hit Delcarmine's skate and he then sent a shot at Fairfield Prep goalie Chris Carr, who blocked the puck, but the rebound bounced to Harmon, who chipped it back in for the 2-1 lead.
"That goal kind of sums up our line," Lowe said. "We're gritty, we play together as a unit and it was just kind of a scrum in there. It was a nice bounce to Drew and he's always there, always in the right place, hard stick and he was ready for it."
While New Canaan's championship was a long time coming, the Jesuits were appearing in their 24th CIAC final and their 19 state championships are the most in Connecticut history by two over Hamden's 17.
For the Jesuits, it was a tough loss after starting the season with four losses in five games and then rebounding to win 16 games and reach the state final for the first time since 2023.
"We're really proud of their effort," Fairfield Prep coach Vin O'Hara said, "If you look at our first few weeks, we were 1-4, and we finished the way that we did, here at Quinnipiac. That was our goal all along but there were some serious bumps along the way. We were led by 13 seniors who took their roles very seriously and matured and as a result, the expectations and the effort level rose and it made our team much better all-around."
The offensive chances leaned heavily in New Canaan's favor for the first two periods when it outshot Prep 22-8. Much of that had to do with the play of Carr (23 saves), who stifled numerous shots.
The Rams netted the first goal when Delcarmine scored short-handed with an assist from Crowell 33 seconds into the second period.
The Jesuits tied it on a goal by Andrew McCoy, who chipped a pass from Matt Tulvin past goalie Blake Pozatek (16 saves) with 7:27 to go in the second.
The Jesuits came out flying in the third period, reeling off the first five shots, with senior Connor Driscoll creating several prime opportunities but coming up empty with Pozatek stopping all nine Prep shots in the period.
But after Harmon gave the Rams the late lead, Lowe iced the game, the championship and the long drought with an empty-netter with 7.7 seconds to play.
"We were getting so many good looks that it was just bound to happen," Harmon said. "We outshot them by a lot and we played great on the defensive side, so it was just bound to happen.
"It's the best feeling in the world. Fifty-four years we waited for this and it's just, it's amazing."
Player of the game
Rogan Lowe, New Canaan:The senior, who had 58 points this season, was involved in both third period goals, setting up Harmon's game-winner for an assist and then scoring into an empty net.
Quotable
"There's so much relief. So much hard work has been put into this and to actually finally hear the horn sound, to achieve this goal that we've been thinking about for such a long time, it's so much relief." - New Canaan senior Rogan Lowe
CIAC Division I Boys Hockey Championship
New Canaan 3, Fairfield Prep 1
FAIRFIELD PREP 0 1 0-1
NEW CANAAN 0 1 2-3
NC-Anthony DelCarmine (Jack Crowell), 14:27
FP-Andrew McCoy (Matt Tulvin, Tyler Wilhelm), 7:27
NC-Drew Harmon (Rogan Lowe, Anthony DelCarmine), 2:02
NC-Lowe (Harmon, Cam Lyden), EN, 0:07.7
Shots: Fairfield Prep 17; New Canaan 26
Saves: FP – Chris Carr 23; NC – Blake Pozatek 16
Records: Fairfield Prep 16-9; New Canaan 22-2
This article originally published at New Canaan defeats Fairfield Prep in CIAC Division I final, captures first state championship since 1972.